Scammers use puppies to prey on Black Friday bargain hunters

Detective Inspector Vince Byrnes said there had been a surge in puppy scams.

“This is where a person will buy a puppy online, unseen, due to COVID restrictions.

“We have seen puppy scams in Australia to the extent that the person has not only lost money, but then they have been asked to pay for that non-existent puppy’s funeral and the person has paid those monies. The extent of these scams and the exploitation of our community is real.”

Inspector Byrnes said Scamwatch was reporting more than $2 million lost recently in relation to those types of scams.

He said some scammers lured online shoppers with popular products at significantly discounted prices.

“We noticed earlier on with the COVID experience that scammers have adapted and used…